It is no secret that Oak Ridge has been getting some great press lately thanks to Denise Kiernan and her fine book “The Girls of Atomic City” (976.873).

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By Susie Stooksbury/Special to The Oak Ridger

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Susie Stooksbury/Special to The Oak Ridger

Posted May. 2, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Updated May 2, 2013 at 8:48 PM

By Susie Stooksbury/Special to The Oak Ridger

Posted May. 2, 2013 at 8:45 PM
Updated May 2, 2013 at 8:48 PM

It is no secret that Oak Ridge has been getting some great press lately thanks to Denise Kiernan and her fine book “The Girls of Atomic City” (976.873).

In it she highlights the stories of just a few of the young women who grabbed the opportunity to come to a brand new town — one with no name tucked away in the Tennessee hills — in order to earn a good wage and do their part to end the war. In the process, these plucky women helped change their world and established a thriving city.

Little Shirley Falls, Maine, is one of those places where everyone knows everyone's business and family history. Jim and Bob Burgess were always self-conscious about the freak accident that claimed their father's life, and so they both left town for New York City as soon as they could. Jim is now a high-profile lawyer, cocksure and brittle. Bob is also a lawyer, but he works for Legal Aid. A call from their sister Susan, whose son has committed a disturbing hate crime, takes them back to their hometown — a visit with profound consequences for them all. “The Burgess Boys” is the latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout.

According to investigative journalist Michael Moss most of us are unknowingly addicted to the processed food we eat. The culprits are three inexpensive ingredients — salt, sugar and fat — which the industry manipulates in just about all processed foods offered in supermarkets. As a result, we are suffering from more clinical obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure than ever before, which coincidentally means more money for the health care industry. Moss reveals the disturbing details in “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” (613.200).

Ursula Todd is born and dies many times in her life. She is stillborn in 1910 because the doctor is stuck in a snowdrift; yet moments later the scene replays with a doctor on hand to save her. As her life unfolds many times, Ursula begins to get a sense of the history she is reliving — until one day she decides the thing to do would be to assassinate Hitler. Kate Atkinson gives her popular series hero Jackson Brodie a rest in her completely different and unusual new novel, “Life After Life.”

A couple of new books on the Afghan War focus on the autumn of 2009 and two particularly deadly attacks on U.S. troops by the Taliban. Cpl. Dakota Meyer tells of the ambush at Ganjigal and the deeds that earned him a Medal of Honor in “Into the Fire: a Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War” (958.100). In “The Outpost: an Untold Story of American Valor” (958.100), ABC News correspondent Jake Tapper relates what happened when 400 Taliban attacked the 50 U.S. soldiers based at the remote Combat Outpost Keating.

Page 2 of 2 - A wealthy Iranian businessman hires the upscale investigative firm Ikertu to find out why the buyer of his company has backed out of the transaction. Darius Qazai believes some false information about his past scotched the deal, and he wants Ikertu investigator Ben Webster to find out what it is. Webster takes on the job even though he senses something about Qazai is not quite right. Unfortunately, his instincts prove correct — before long both Ben and his family are threatened by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. “The Jackal's Share” continues Chris Morgan Jones' fine series.